Nigeria Canvases Pan-African Alliance to Combat Cancer Crises 

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, has advocated intensified cross-border collaboration to combat Africa’s growing cancer crises,

The minister also said the federal government is implementing reforms, expanded cancer infrastructure and ambitious prevention strategies.

A statement signed by Deputy Director/Head, Information and Public Relations, Alaba Balogun said the minister spoke at the Africa Oncology Collaboration and Innovation Forum held in Luxor, Egypt.

Salako said Africa must urgently unite to address what he described as a silent epidemic claiming more lives than war, AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined on the continent.

Quoting GLOBACAN 2022 data, the minister revealed that Africa recorded 1,185,216 new cancer cases and 763,843 related deaths, figures largely driven by lifestyle and environmental risk factors, ageing populations, late detection and weak treatment infrastructure.

He noted that Nigeria alone accounts for 10.5 per cent of Africa’s cancer burden, ranking among the top three on the continent alongside Egypt and South Africa.

“These unacceptable figures demand that we bridge borders, share resources and establish a coordinated, Pan-African response. This is the essence of healthcare Pan-Africanism,” Salako stated

The new Cancer Control Plan, scheduled for launch in the first quarter of 2026, is aligned with global frameworks such as the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative, the Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer and the Global Cancer Declaration by the Union for International Cancer Control.

It outlines strategies for prevention, early detection, treatment, palliative care, survivorship, research, resource mobilisation and quality improvement.

The minister said that Nigeria has significantly scaled up its national cancer control efforts, citing the establishment of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment in 2017 as the foundation of recent progress.

He said that in the last 31 months under President Tinubu’s leadership, political will and budgetary allocations for oncology care have increased markedly.

Key interventions include the establishment of six new cancer centres of excellence across the country, procurement of specialised oncology equipment, expanded human capital development in cancer care and enhanced cross-border collaborations.

He also revealed the development of two landmark national policy documents designed to transform Nigeria’s cancer response: the National Nuclear Medicine Policy and Strategic Plan and the Nigeria National Cancer Control Plan 2026–2030.

Salako explained that Nigeria, through its National Task Force on Cervical Cancer Elimination, is aiming to screen at least 50 per cent of eligible women by 2027 and treat 100 per cent of detected precancerous lesions.

He further highlighted the success of the HPV vaccination programme, introduced in October 2023, which has already immunised nearly 15 million Nigerian girls aged 9 to 14, positioning Nigeria as one of Africa’s most aggressive nations in cervical cancer prevention.

Salako further said that Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Programme is finalising plans to introduce a catastrophic health insurance scheme that includes cancer care coverage.

In addition, Salako said the government is implementing a National Cancer Health Fund and supporting the Nigeria Cancer Society’s private-sector-led Cancer Intervention Fund to ease the financial burden on patients and families.